400 People Participated In "Pay It Forward" At Florida Starbucks And Bought The Person Behind Them A Free Drink, Oh My God My Faith In Humanity Is Magically RESTORED!
ST. PETERSBURG — The acts of kindness began at 7 a.m. Wednesday with a woman, her iced coffee and a stranger’s caramel macchiato.The woman paid for her own drink, then asked to pay for the drink of the person behind her in the drive-through. That person returned the favor and paid for the person behind, and so did that person, until the employees at the St. Petersburg Starbucks on Tyrone Boulevard began a tally on green laminated paper near the drive-through window.
By 1:30 p.m., the chain had reached 260 customers. People ordered a drink at the speaker. When they pulled through to the next window, the barista, Vu Nguyen, 29, leaned through and said with a smile that their drinks had already been paid for by the person in front of them. Would they like to return the favor? “It makes your day better, I think,” said Lexie Kane, 17, of St. Petersburg, who ordered an iced coffee. Tim Burnside, 19, had visited in the morning and paid it forward. He returned later to see whether it was still going on. Seeing that it was, he ordered a second chai tea.
“It’s nice just to do a random act of kindness for someone you don’t know,” said Burnside, also of St. Petersburg. Some said the simple act connected them to all of the others in line before them. Others said they didn’t want to be the jerk to end it. The baristas inside began to think of what they might do if it lasted until 10 p.m., when the Starbucks closed. Perhaps they could put the final amount on a gift card and continue the next day? They tallied 378 people by early evening. Then at 6 p.m., customer No. 379 — a woman in a white Jeep Commander — pulled into the drive-through and ordered a regular coffee. Nguyen leaned out the window. He told her about the chain that had begun that morning. Would she like to participate? The woman declined, saying she just wanted to pay for her $2.25 drink and not someone else’s. Nguyen said it appeared the woman didn’t understand the concept of paying it forward.
Look, I’m not a cynic. I’m a pretty positive guy in life, I like to do things that I like and let others do the same. But this shit I just can never understand. Oh my god, my faith in humanity is restored, everyone bought each other a drink! Hey assholes, you do realize you’re still paying basically the exact same amount. It’s like they think they just broke the code to peace and happiness. So selfless to go and pay for someone else’s drink like that. Fucking Idiots. There is no difference in paying for your own drink or getting a free drink then paying for the next person’s drink. Everyone spent the exact same amount of money. You all did nothing. But yeah, this totally means society is great. You want to be great? You dump ice water on your head, posers.
Love love love the woman who just said no. Oh my drink is paid for? Sweet, peace bitches.
PS
If I owned a Starbucks or a coffee shop I would just make this story up every few weeks. Give the first person a free drink and tell them it was Pay It Forward. Free publicity, make people happy with dumb gimmicks then roll around in my Pay It Forward Money.